COL Joe Buche
Colonel Joe Buche is a career infantry officer who was commissioned in the Regular Army from the University of Wisconsin-Madison ROTC Program in 1984.
As a lieutenant and captain, Colonel Buche commanded four infantry companies, including command during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He was assigned in Germany, Fort Campbell, KY, and Fort Myer, VA.
Colonel Buche served as a battalion operations officer (S3) and executive officer (XO), division chief of plans, and brigade S3 and XO, with most of this experience occurring while assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. After serving as an operational planner in US Central Command immediately following September 11, 2001, Colonel Buche spent a year as a branch chief on the Headquarters, Department of the Army staff in the Army G-8.
Colonel Buche deployed to Iraq in early 2003, serving first as the 101st Airborne Division Rear Command Post Chief of Staff and then assuming command in Tal Afar, Iraq of the Division’s 3d Battalion, 187th Infantry. After redeploying in 2004, Colonel Buche led the transformation of the unit to a Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition organization and initiated the training to redeploy back to Iraq. He relinquished command in 2005, serving next as the 3d Brigade Deputy Commander and then as a strategic planner on the Joint Staff.
In July 2005 Colonel Buche was detailed to the US Government’s National Counterterrorism Center in its new Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning. He served as the deputy of the team which planned and wrote the nation’s first comprehensive plan for the War on Terrorism and then as the Division Chief of the newly formed Planning and Implementation Division.
Before joining the Center for a New American Security as an Army Fellow, Colonel Buche served as the 77th Regimental Commander of the 3d US Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), the Army unit whose responsibilities include guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, performing funerals in Arlington National Cemetery, and composing the colonel-level Joint Task Force in the National Capitol Region for contingency operations and National Special Security Events.
Colonel Buche’s awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with oaf leaf cluster, two Combat Infantryman’s Badges, and the Ranger Tab. Colonel Buche holds a Masters degree from the School of Advanced Military Studies.
Colonel Buche is married to the former Cynthia Jo (CJ) Hales, a retired military officer. They have two daughters, Megan and Shelby.
